Lovefilm hits back at Netflix with Warners streaming deal

Gets exclusive movie content

Lovefilm has announced that it has signed a deal with Warner Bros, which gives the service a boatload of exclusive movie content.

The link-up comes just days after a number of high-profile signings by Netflix – MGM, Miramax and Lionsgate – the US movie service that's set to enter the UK market in early 2012.

The deal with Warners proves that Lovefilm is not taking Netflix's arrival lying down and means that when it comes to streaming, Lovefilm now has exclusivity for movies such as The Dark Knight, The Hangover, Gran Torino and Sex and the City 2.

Significant deal

Speaking about the new deal, Josh Berger, President and Managing Director, Warner Bros UK, Ireland and Spain said: "This significant deal with Lovefilm and its parent company Amazon takes a 360 degree approach to delivering Warner Bros' world class movies across multiple business lines.

"Now, Lovefilm customers will enjoy more ways of enjoying great film content, all with the ease that the service has become known for."

The significant part of this deal is that Warner Bros has created something called a "second pay window" which means that the big studios are finally taking movie streaming seriously and seeing it as a viable source of income, rather than an afterthought.

If successful, this should pave the way for a smaller window between movies being released on Blu-ray and made available for streaming.